GR - stick or twist

[Van der MoodHoover]

his improvement of vydra has been very impressive. 

His getting us to 4th - after some early season spankings - has been very surprisnng but credit worthy nonetheless. 

But he isn't the messiah just yet 

[kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong]

53 minutes ago, archied said:

Interesting given that Mac 2 after getting a new broom effect was struggling to get results or get us in top 6 and that's with Hughes ,ince ,Bryson (best players gone now) at the club and replaced by inferior journey men ,,, ummmm ,, vydra was not even near the first team and seen as a massive loss of 8 mill that couldn't be given away ,I could go on but what's the point ,, anybody could do the job rowett is doing now ,if it was Mac at the helm getting the results and climbing the table as rowett is doing there's a section that would be salivating and proclaiming him the messiah but cause it's rowett it's the bare minimum easy peasey stuff anybody would be producing , same stuff that players like keough and Russell face no matter how well they do 

I don't think anyone is quite saying that but it's very early days yet...let's get through this Christmas period and see how we go into the new year.....this period has been tricky even for our most talented managers (Mac before you ask)

I've been a critic of our style of play since GR took over but over the past few games (literally that) we seem to have been slowly improving our fluidity and performance,hinting that Gary is learning as he goes along........

And yes,vydra is doing well and on course for his 20 goals but only at the expense of our much cheaper 25 goal a season striker who now plays the role of goal supplier....so we haven't particularly gained that much..we are still reliant on one striker to supply the goals and basing our system around him,which was a big criticism of Mac as I recall .

 

[Inverurie Ram]

Your all typing pish. We unfortunately now live in the World of Twist where some little bored piece of twaddle wants to get his/her little kicks out of trying to wind up his/her fellow Ram.

Here get a grip of yourselves. Enjoy The World of Twist......Like a Rams Fan....She Comes in Colours Everywhere!

 

[RoyMac5]

4 hours ago, kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong said:

I don't think anyone is quite saying that but it's very early days yet...let's get through this Christmas period and see how we go into the new year.....this period has been tricky even for our most talented managers (Mac before you ask)...

Please do not sow dissent about our new Glorious Leader! Repeat after me 'Gary is glorious, Gary is great'!

One of my previous posts in another thread received three 'angry face' likes because I dared mention that my brother's thoughts on the Barnsley game were that the standard of football was awful to watch, we both need re-educating obviously.

 

[RamNut]

8 hours ago, archied said:

So no credit due to rowett then? He's doing the least expected of him at this point ?

You keep wanting to change the subject to be about GR. My comments were that that he did not inherit a mess. He inherited a surplus of riches - a bloated squad but with a core of very good players. It needed thinning out a bit.

i think GR has done some good things and has made some decisions which are less positive.

firstly, the change of formation. 4231 instead of 433. Something had to be done. The 433 relied on 3 good centre midfielders; two attacking, 1 holding. Once george was injured we struggled to find a natural replacement. Having sold hendrick, then bryson and hughes were a natural fit for the other positions. The no9 was isolated without on running midfielders. The two wide men were a luxury. They were permanently deployed in attack offering little cover for the full backs. The system suited Ince probably but the system had been rumbled and we needed a plan b. there was no natural role for vydra in 433.

4231 plays the wide men slightly deeper. There is only one central attacking midfielder / no10. There are now two holding midfielders giving extra protection to the back four. GR obviously wants defenders priority to be to defend so he ditched Christie for wisdom. With shackell unfit and Pearce slow, he decided that we needed a new partner for keogh and chose curtis davies from the available options. Fair enough. He made some tweaks but its a short term option. He needed to recruit holding midfielders and he selected another veteren in huddlestone. His ability to hit long balls changed the nature of our play from short passing to a more direct style. Until another club took butterfield we seemed financially too restricted to bring in the second natural holding player. After the 11th hour balls up with keith, we were forced to go for Ledley. This was what Ramage would call a good bad one. We sort of fluked finding the player who seemed to be the missing link and made it work. Even if it was a fluke, credit to GR. The only downside being that this is now three veterens signed and without a lot of mobility. 

As for the more attacking three, GR was right to identify that we had a lot of potential no 10s. Hughes, bryson, vydra, ince.....etc. The most controversial move was to bin hughes and bryson. Whilst we all loved will hughes, gary was noticeably less enthusiastic. I think he saw hughes and bryson as too lightweight. He also concluded that a change was required. Vydra is quicker and younger than bryson. He will score more goals, but is less effective as a midfielder. So gary made his choice. Vydra. Now Hughes and bryson could go. Butterfield didn't fit anywhere. Its seems perverse that he couldn't accommodate a young talent like Hughes, and where David Davis was supposed to fit in i have no idea. 

As for the wide players, he chose to sacrifice Ince. Maybe it was for financial reasons. Maybe it was for other reasons. Personally that doesn't bother me too much. Ince seemed to be less of a team player and occupied a luxury role in 433. Lawrence was the replacement. He is taking time to settle and his performances are hit and miss but thats ok. That is often what happens with new signings. They don't all gel immediately. Weimann has been his second lucky find. His pace and workrate seem to fit. Fair enough. Good management to recognise that and get the unexpected benefit from a player who otherwise seemed finished with us. 

Finally the no9. Chris martin doesn't have the pace which GR values. He does have good link up play, and is finally getting one or two games. Garys preference is probably for nugent, and he links well with vydra. That was immediately apparent last season and it was strange that gary seemed to ditch it at one point. Winnall is a younger darren bent. Effective from close range but not offering enough to displace nugent or martin at the moment.

So....he has made his choices. They seem logical and rational given the change to 4231 but have left us with an ageing team and no natural midfielders. We are effective but we don't really control the game or play the short passing style which was associated with will hughes. Nevertheless our monotonous long ball game from earlier in the season does seem to be evolving into something a bit more attractive and pacy.

We occupy a higher league position than i expected and credit is due for achieving better results. We have gone for a set up and style which is closer to nigel pearson than schteve mcclaren and along with many others, i miss Hughes, bryson and martin. I like vydra and nugent.

Just not as much.

Thats my assessment of GR. Its not pro or anti. It is what it is. 

[toddy]

Top assessment RamNut!

Yes, we are currently 4th and credit does go to GR for that, but I would also say with the exception of Wolves the rest are as **** as us at times.

[Mistaram]

7 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

Please do not sow dissent about our new Glorious Leader! Repeat after me 'Gary is glorious, Gary is great'!

One of my previous posts in another thread received three 'angry face' likes because I dared mention that my brother's thoughts on the Barnsley game were that the standard of football was awful to watch, we both need re-educating obviously.

 

Yes obviously ?

[RadioactiveWaste]

2 hours ago, DC-1975 said:

That's Second Division football for you.

If you read the Man City thread, people are criticising them. Everyone wants perfection these days!

Good post @RamNut.

My thoughts in brief are that Rowett has improved the team as a unit, from where we were when he took over. He's developed partnerships and improved or found a role for some of last seasons fringe players. A team rather than a group of individuals.

This.

[Inverurie Ram]

Gary Rowett........I'm stick man, I'm stick man......I'm Derby County.

 

[Day]

Stick.

[Abu Derby]

Keep him and give him a five year deal. 

[StockholmRam]

I think it might be a good idea to give him a couple more games. 

[YouRams]

Even the blind faith Mac brigade must be warming to him now Rowett finds a way to get results against the teams around us, something Mac struggled to do. And this is a results business! 

[YouRams]

And to all the Stokies mentioning him for the job at them all over social media, politely **** off  

[ketteringram]

20 minutes ago, YouRams said:

And to all the Stokies mentioning him for the job at them all over social media, politely **** off  

One just been on 606 too. Robbie having none of it

[archied]

Call me crazy but today against villa I really enjoyed seeing the rowett way ,, shinner noted it too in commentary ,,, how we defend ,, we work hard on shape , we communicate ,we don't dive in to win the ball and commit fouls in dangerous places , we close off routes and Shepard players away from danger areas and all the time we are poised ready to pounce and attack , 

i grew up watching Todd, nish ,macfarland, in the days when defending was an art and a part of the game , not a dirty word , it's wired but we seem to be getting better and better at being in control of a game but without the ball ,

ive always been stick not twist but I'm getting more and more stick as we develop ,

time was when I watched us defending and was full of fear waiting for us to concede , at the moment I'm starting to watch us defend full of admiration and expectancy for us to spring and score , 

defending was / is an art and part of the game , rowett appears to be refining that art to fit the modern game 

one thing is for sure, I'm seeing a team 

[Curtains]

The question is just so ridiculous.

Rowett is the best thing to happen to DCFC for a very long time. 

[YouRams]

11 minutes ago, ketteringram said:

One just been on 606 too. Robbie having none of it

I’d be shocked if he did to be honest. Call me biased but I’d prefer the challenge of getting a team up and keeping them up, than to manage a team with a top half finish at best as the overall goal. 

[derbydaz22]

1 hour ago, archied said:

Call me crazy but today against villa I really enjoyed seeing the rowett way ,, shinner noted it too in commentary ,,, how we defend ,, we work hard on shape , we communicate ,we don't dive in to win the ball and commit fouls in dangerous places , we close off routes and Shepard players away from danger areas and all the time we are poised ready to pounce and attack , 

i grew up watching Todd, nish ,macfarland, in the days when defending was an art and a part of the game , not a dirty word , it's wired but we seem to be getting better and better at being in control of a game but without the ball ,

ive always been stick not twist but I'm getting more and more stick as we develop ,

time was when I watched us defending and was full of fear waiting for us to concede , at the moment I'm starting to watch us defend full of admiration and expectancy for us to spring and score , 

defending was / is an art and part of the game , rowett appears to be refining that art to fit the modern game 

one thing is for sure, I'm seeing a team 

Totally agree I was really worried about performance’s early in the season and although it’s not great football at times I am enjoying watching the team work really hard for each other. We have a great shape and we always look a threat on the counter attack,I think we are better suited for away games and when teams sit deep at pride park we do struggle but we are a match for anyone and Keogh and Davies are just getting better and better the best pairing in the division. ???

[Van der MoodHoover]

Was always going to stick with GR for at least a season and a half.

Even so, he's got the team a long way ahead of where I thought we'd be around now. 

His post match interview a week or so back indicated he still wanted more from the group. Footballers being human,  will react to methods that they see work. So the direction of travel suggests that there's more to look forward to. 

Excellent progress from those shaky first few weeks of the season.